


Tunnel of Darkness

by PseudoAgape



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: But Camp Campbell helps, Max has a crappy childhood, Max's Parents Are Bad Parents (Camp Camp), Max-centric (Camp Camp), This is a weird vent fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-18
Updated: 2020-07-18
Packaged: 2021-03-05 08:20:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 1,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25347601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PseudoAgape/pseuds/PseudoAgape
Summary: People often spoke of a light at the end of tunnel or flashes of brightness that made this journey we call life worth it.But, if this was true, where was his light?
Relationships: David & Max (Camp Camp), Max & Science Camp Neil & Nikki (Camp Camp)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 27





	1. The Tunnel

**Author's Note:**

> TW!! THIS IS FOR THE ENTIRE FIC!!TW  
> Abuse mentions/implications, bullying mentions/implications,
> 
> So, I'm really not sure what this is.
> 
> Originally it was just... a thing? Then it turned out okay and I know shit like this can help others feel less alone and crap so yeah. There will probably be some errors and mistakes but we can just pretend that was intentional and that I Know What I'm Doing.
> 
> Enjoy!!!

Camp Campbell was a place Max despised.

It held a light he had never seen before, one he cowered away from in the darkness of his tunnel.

The light was unknown. It was dangerous.

Back at home was dangerous too, but Max knew that. He knew it was unpredictable and had learnt to navigate his way around the chaotic home life he had. He knew how to keep his head down when his father's footsteps became heavy and his words rose with anger, how to just do what his mother said when she shot him a sharp look and moved quickly enough to elicit a flinch from him. He knew when things got bad they would be battled with tight hugs and the empty statement of ‘I’m so sorry, baby, I love you’. That was guaranteed at least 80% of the time.

The unpredictability that was home had patterns, patterns he knew like they were a second language.

This light, however, held incalculable possibilities to him.

He didn’t know what it meant, couldn’t figure out what it  _ could _ mean.

Was it good? Bad? Both? 

Was it light the tired looks adults would give him or the harsh, taunting eyes of his fellow peers? Did it have patterns like home? Would it lead to him getting yelled at? Scolded for yet another thing that he had no control of?

Could it lead to this good patch in life he occasionally long for?   
  
He scoffed at the idea of that. There’s no way there could be anything positive to do with that light. He had never encountered it before. Everything else he had encountered in his life only added to his pain.

So… why was he so drawn to it?

He couldn’t help but want to reach out to the light, play around with it and discover what it could lead too.

It looked odd just standing in his tunnel of darkness, standing out no matter where he went to get away from it. It held him back from going forwards, mentally stuck in the hypnotising brightness it held.

For weeks he stood a foot away from it.

Staring.

Waiting.

Expecting.

What he wasn’t prepared for was two arms reaching out and grabbing him, forcing him into the patch of light.


	2. Of Life

Now within the light, he had his first glimpse at how others saw the world.

He was first greeted with the sight of two other kids.

Neither seemed disgusted by the sight of him, one grinning at him whilst the other awkwardly smiled.

Something about the pair was calming, welcoming. Neither things he had ever come across.

Sure, he had experienced what it was like to be in his mother's arms and had heard her tell him that she loved him. But it felt nothing like the sight of the two kids. His mother never held that quality of calmness and always seemed empty. Her words were… lacking the warmth he had seen kids at school return too at the end of the day.

But the two in front of him held a warmth he had never felt before. 

With that warmth they began to fill his tunnel with sound. Although it bounced off the walls and disappeared into the darkness, their chatters brought noise to his once empty, dark, mute tunnel.

It was new and scary.

He was used to the harsh looks of others, the numbing words of adults and insults of children, all of which his tunnel of nothingness protected him from.

The pair had single handedly changed his tunnel, allowing him a glimpse of what others tunnels were full of.

Warmth, sound, beauty.

This small change in his tunnel made him. It made him smile. It allowed him the hope that this light could continue, giving him the chance to, for once, be optimistic in his tunnel of dark.


	3. May Be Dark

Much to his surprise, this light began to grow.

The next arrival of light was during camp again.

Adults always made Max glad to have his dark tunnel. It protected him from them.

Adults were mean, meant no good and shared fake smiles and words and promises.

All adults had been like that until a certain optimistic bastard arrived with a warm, comforting light that hung around in the darkness ahead.

It was easy to assume that the smiles and care he brought along with him were fake. They generally were when it came to Max.

But week after week, the light remained. It was patient. It didn’t budge even when he yelled and screamed at it to leave, the child unprepared to deal with another beam of light that could destroy the calming warmth he held so far.

Plus, it was an adult.

Adults meant bad.

He was a kid, not stupid.

Adults only did things to keep peace of mind. They offered fake love and real pain, something the adults that had brought him into the world and to his tunnel helped him to learn.

Why would this be any different?

Unlike the last time, where he had been dragged into the light, this one just… stood there. Waiting for Max to accept it.

It remained patient.

It angered him.

Why did this adult have to pretend to try longer than the rest? Usually they would give up on him after a week or two, this had been trying since the start of summer now. Unlike others, it didn’t push Max to ‘be the best him’, nor did it see the worst in him.

The light just saw Max and was more than happy to wait until Max was ready.

The Max that was used to the darkness would be horrified of the Max now that pulled the light into his current light, adding a newer light that he had never expected to experience.

A parental light.


	4. But Light Awaits

This gathering of lights only seemed to grow.

Slowly, he allowed the other lights the camp offered into his tunnel.

They offered him the beautiful sight that was once hidden by the darkness and silence. 

He now saw the elegance of life, the positivity that could be reached if he accepted the light others offered. 

He didn’t feel so cold, confused and lost.

He now… felt at home.

The boy knew this light couldn’t last forever, that the darkness would return and conceal the beauty that now filled his tunnel.

But... for now he could relish the light and rest assured it would be there next year.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kind of really enjoyed writing this?? So I may make it into a series, I’m not sure yet.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed!!
> 
> Stay safe, stay hydrated and wear your masks


End file.
